Montclair's Irving Street residents play waiting game

Eyes in the 4th Ward are on Irving Street as residents await word on the status of a potential transitional facility on the block.

Montclair residents on and around Irving Street are playing the waiting game as the future of 45 Irving St. is determined.

As reported, Irving Street residents have attended the past two Township Council meetings with concerns over plans for mental health services company, Care Plus, to transition the property into a transitional facility for young women leaving foster care. The residents have cited an overabundance of affordable and specialty units in the 4th Ward as compared to the remainder of the township, including a specialty facility already on their street.

Care Plus did not return a call placed by The Times prior to print.

Fourth Ward Councilwoman Renée Baskerville told The Times on Tuesday that the municipal government has not heard from Care Plus regarding its intentions of appearing before the Montclair Zoning Board of Adjustments.

In the meantime, Baskerville said that she, Township Manager Marc Dashield and Township Planner Janice Talley are in the process of making all of Montclair conducive to affordable and specialty housing.

Baskerville said that she and municipal officials await changes to state codes before introducing any municipal ordinance. The councilwoman said that, while limiting the number of affordable or specialty units may not be realistic, an ordinance describing the proximity of such properties to one another is an option.

Working with the municipal Housing Commission, Baskerville said that she hopes to help shed the misconception that only the 4th Ward is affordable.

In the weeks since she and residents first raised concerns over 45 Irving St., Baskerville said that she has been disappointed by allegations that Irving Street residents are taking a "Not in My Back Yard" stance. To the contrary, Baskerville said that she is supportive of specialty housing, but not to the extent that they create a "de facto zoning change."

"I am a very strong believer in supporting residential neighborhoods," Baskerville said. "I'm a strong believer to people moving to a town and knowing what they get."

Baskerville cited East Orange as a municipality that was, at one point, largely single-family residences before development transitioned it into more of a city-like environment.

The councilwoman said that the vast majority of the Irving Street residents with whom she has spoken oppose the potential project.

Keith Hefner, who resides around the corner from Irving Street on Lexington Avenue, counts himself as an exception.

Hefner runs a writing intensive program for New York City youths, a portion of whom are in the foster care system. The resident told The Times that he knows firsthand that transitional facilities for young men and women moving out of foster care are more necessary than ever.

Using the example of how many adults in their early 20s still live with their parents due to the struggling economy, Hefner said that people who grow up in foster care do not have the same option. Hefner said that transitional housing gives such individuals the ability to develop independent living skills. Those who are not given the opportunity to develop these skills in a transitional facility, Hefner said, are susceptible to reverting to the situations that led them into foster care in the first place.

While believing that the 4th Ward does have an unbalanced number of affordable and specialized housing units, Hefner argued that their presence has not changed the quality of life in the neighborhood. Given that the alternative may be that such facilities aren't developed at all, Hefner said that he would welcome transitional housing at 45 Irving St.

North And East

During recent council meetings, Montclair's other wards, particularly the 1st and 2nd, have been identified as needing to do their parts to even out affordable and transitional housing in the township.

In speaking with The Times on Tuesday, 1st Ward Councilman Bill Hurlock said that criticism toward his ward was unfair and said that, since taking office in 2012, he has made it one of his goals to introduce affordable housing into the 1st Ward.

Hurlock said that he had thought he secured an affordable unit before it turned out that the property would not constitute "affordable" under state statute. Given the lack of property available in his ward, Hurlock said opportunities are tough to come by.

"We need to be more creative in getting affordable housing in the 1st Ward," Hurlock said.

One outside-the-box plan Hurlock has tried to use is working with local churches in identifying manses available for sale or rent and exploring such options with HOMECorp, a Montclair-based affordable-housing developer.